September 24th 2024.
The Indian government has recently announced an extension of the approval system for certain IT hardware imports, such as laptops and tablets. This extension will last for three more months, until December 31st. The deadline for reviewing this system has also been pushed back to September 30th.
According to reports, these imports have reached a whopping $8.4 billion in the 2023-24 period, despite the initial authorization being set at $9.5 billion. It has been noted that a majority of these imports are coming from China. In light of this, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade has issued a policy circular stating that importers are allowed to apply for authorizations that will be valid until December 31st, 2024. Additionally, any existing import authorizations issued until September 30th, 2024 will also remain valid until the end of that year.
However, importers will be required to apply for fresh authorizations starting from January 1st, 2025, with detailed guidelines to be provided in the near future. This move comes after the government initially imposed import restrictions on laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers, ultra-small form factor computers, and servers back in August 2023. In response to concerns raised by the industry, a new import management/authorization system was introduced in October last year.
The main objective of this system is to closely monitor the import of these items into the country while ensuring that market supply is not affected. Importers are allowed to apply for multiple authorizations, with each one being valid until September 30th, 2024. These authorizations can be used for an unlimited number of consignments until the given date.
On November 1st, 2023, the government approved over 100 applications, including those from big names like Apple, Dell, and Lenovo, who were seeking permission to import these IT hardware products worth almost $10 billion. This new licensing system is specifically targeted towards laptops, personal computers, microcomputers, large or mainframe computers, and certain data processing machines, with the aim of securing India's supply chain.
In recent years, India has imported personal computers, including laptops, worth $5.33 billion in 2022-23, which is a significant increase from the $7.37 billion recorded in 2021-22. In light of this news, Ajay Srivastava, the founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative, has stated that India's repeated delays in implementing laptop import restrictions, possibly influenced by concerns from the US, need to come to an end.
He believes that it is time for India to enforce these measures and boost local production. By doing so, it will encourage American tech giants like Apple, Dell, and HP, who currently manufacture in China, to consider setting up operations in India. This could have a positive impact on the country's economy and create job opportunities.
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